A New Life
by Rainack
Summary: Fox has a new sceme up his sleeve. The search for Jenny continues, and Paul gets some help from an unexpected place. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I do not claim ownership of the Starman idea, or main story. I only claim ownership of the idea of this story, and Traci. I borrowed one scene out of the original Starman movie, and one scene from the Starscape episode of the TV show.

A New Life

When Traci woke, she didn't know where she was. She thought back to the night before. She clearly remembered curling up in a large cardboard box in the alley on Sixth Street, pillowing her black haired head on her arms. The night was warm, so she had quickly fallen into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

She now found herself lying in a hospital bed in a hospital style room. She knew she wasn't in any hospital, though, for her hands were handcuffed to the rails of the bed. She pulled against the cuffs, hoping they might be lose, but couldn't free herself.

She wasn't afraid, not yet. Little could be worse than her life up to this point. She had been living on the streets for two years, taking odd jobs just to get money for food and the occasional night or two in some cheap hotel. She hadn't stooped so low as to sell her body or to dope herself up to forget. She wanted to stay healthy, and remember it all, so that once she had gotten herself out of this situation, she could better appreciate the little things, like showers and beds.

Looking around the room, she took in the few features. The door, a few feet from the end of the bed, was closed. To the left of the bed were several large and medium sized pieces of medical equipment. There were a couple of chairs, but no other furniture. There were no windows, but what she guessed was a one way mirror took up half of the wall to her right. She could sense someone watching her. She stared at the mirror, her sapphire eyes unblinking.


	2. Chapter 2

George Fox watched the young woman through the one way mirror in front of him.

The room he was sitting in was an observation station. The glass in front of him was designed to allow a person sitting on this side of the glass to observe the person on the other side without that person's knowledge.

Right now, the woman's eyes seemed to bore straight into his, which really unnerved him.

The woman was five six or seven, and though she wasn't skin and bone, she was gaunt. He could tell she didn't get three square meals a day. Her startling sapphire blue eyes were slightly sunk into her face, and what should have been wavy black hair hung in greasy strands as a result of not being recently washed. Her ivory skin was clean, though.

When she was brought in, she'd been wearing a worn, but well kept pair of blue jeans, a pair of ragged tennis shoes, and a much mended t-shirt. Fox had no idea how she would have kept warm in the approaching winter months.

Now she wore a pair of flannel pajamas. She had yet to be cleaned, though. After much debate with the doctor, Fox had agreed that the woman would be allowed to bathe herself. The doctor had argued that if Fox allowed her as much freedom as possible, she would be more cooperative. He needed her cooperation. She couldn't be drugged for what he had in mind.

Before he had decided she was the one, he had followed her for several days, making sure that even though she was homeless, she was relatively healthy, and didn't do drugs. Her malnutrition would quickly be reversed with a highly nutritious diet and plenty of vitamins. In just a few weeks time, they would be able to proceed with the impregnation.

This idea had taken root two years ago. Ever since Forrester had slipped out of his grasp at Peagrum Air Force Base. He was going to use this to once and for all prove to his supervisors that the alien was real, that the threat was real.

Fox stared through the glass at nothing in particular, his mind wandering back in time.

* * *

Fox looked down at the two figures lying prone on glass covered tables. He still couldn't believe he'd finally caught them. Now his superiors had to believe in the threat. The machines the alien and his son were hooked to wouldn't lie.

As he watched, an army medic approached the table Forrester was lying on. The medic opened the glass cover, and bent over Forrester. Fox speculated on what he had ordered the man to do. A sperm sample could tell them so many things. He hoped it might give them more clues about Forrester's species. The whole reason nobody believed him was that he hadn't been able to obtain any solid proof the first time the alien had been to Earth.

Once the medic had finished his task, he walked out of the room, to the cold storage unit. There he would freeze the sample, to keep the sperm viable.

* * *

Bringing himself back to the present, Fox stood up and walked out into the hall. He stopped in front of the next door, removing a set of keys from his pocket. The door opened soundlessly, and Fox slipped into the room beyond. He felt kind of sorry for the girl, but he needed a surrogate mother, and with the mere pittance he was given for a budget, he couldn't afford to pay one, so this was the only way.

When he turned towards her, he expected to see fear in her face, but instead she was looking at him curiously. She sat quietly, waiting for him to speak first. Fox was startled that there was no fear evident in her eyes.

He sat down in the chair nearest the bed, deciding he'd start out friendly and see how she would react.

"Hi. I'm George Fox," Fox said, flashing what he hoped was a charming smile.

"I'm Traci. Where am I?" the curiosity remained firmly in place.

"That's not important. What is important is that while you're here, you will have nutritious meals, a roof over your head and a bed to sleep in.

"What do you mean, for as long as I'm here? How long is that going to be?" a small hint of alarm edged into her voice.

"That all depends on if you're willing to cooperate or not. For now, why don't I take you down the hall to the bathroom and let you get cleaned up?"

"It would be nice to wash my hair," forgetting her hands were restrained, Traci tried to run a hand through her hair. When her hand stopped suddenly, she looked down at the cuffs, then over at Fox, "Am I going to have to wear these the whole time I'm here?"

"As long as you don't try to escape, you'll be unrestrained while you're in your room. When you're outside of your room, you'll be escorted."

Fox stood up and pulled his keys back out of his pocket. He unlocked the handcuffs, then lowered the bed rail, moving aside so Traci could get up.

When she stood up, her bare feet made a slapping noise on the cold, tile floor. Fox motioned for her to precede him to the door.

The hall was plain white, with no decorations or other diversions. One end of the hall had an elevator. From that fact, Traci deduced that there had to be a stairwell nearby, but she didn't know if she was on the first floor, or the fifth floor. She could even be in a sub-basement. She also noted several closed, unmarked doors, lining both sides of the hall.

Fox directed Traci to a door at the other end of the hall from the elevator.

"Go on in. Nancy is inside to help you wash your hair and bathe." Fox waited until Traci was inside and the door had closed behind her, then he turned on his heel and returned to the observation station. Once there, he picked up a phone and punched in several numbers.

"Yes, Dr. Perle. This is George Fox. We're ready for you to come in and set up for the exam.


	3. Chapter 3

When Traci returned to her room, escorted by Nancy, she found Fox and a man in a white lab coat waiting for her.

"Please have a seat on the bed," the doctor told her, placing the ear pieces of a stethoscope in his ears.

"What's going on?" Traci asked, the first traces of true fear creeping into her voice.

"Nothing to be alarmed about. I'm going to perform a complete physical exam and a complete blood work up," the doctor replied, pulling the bottom of Traci's pajama top up enough to slip the end of the stethoscope underneath.

Traci flinched as the cold metal touched several spots on her back, but breathed as she was instructed to.

When the doctor got out the hypodermic needle, Traci jerked back. She'd known this was coming, but still didn't like it.

"Why do you need to take blood?" Traci asked, trying to take her mind off of the needle drawing closer to her arm.

"We have to make sure you're completely healthy, no diseases of any kind," Fox replied, trying to continue with the friendly attitude.

"Are you going to run some kind of experiment on me? You aren't going to inject me full of some bacteria, are you!" Traci demanded, her earlier alarm returning.

"No, no. Nothing of the sort," Fox reassured her, but didn't elaborate.

"Then what do you want me for?" Traci pleaded.

"I can't tell you that yet. You'll find out soon enough," Fox had decided he'd had enough of her questions. As long as the blood work came up clean, they'd proceed whether she continued to cooperate or not.


	4. Chapter 4

Scott let out an exasperated sigh, and threw his book bag on to the couch in the apartment he and his dad were currently renting on a week-to-week basis.

Paul poked his head out of the kitchen, grinned at Scott, and said, "Come here, you've got to taste this new recipe."

"Oh, no, not another one of your 'concoctions.' I've had enough of those, besides, I've got homework to do," and with that, Scott scooped his book bag up from where he'd left it and high tailed it to his room.

A couple of hours later, Paul knocked on Scott's door.

"Come in, Dad," Scott called. He closed the history book he'd been studying, and ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair.

"How was school today?" Paul asked, sitting down on the end of the bed.

"Boring, as usual. I've had all of this stuff at the last three schools I've gone to. If I knew the text books any better, I'd know them by heart." Scott leaned back against the head board, studying the man he called "Dad."

Several years earlier, the real Paul Forrester had died in a helicopter crash while photographing an erupting volcano. That same day, Scott's dad had returned to Earth, responding to his son's desperate cry for help. While in orbit, Scott's dad had seen the wreckage of the helicopter and upon closer examination discovered Paul Forrester's blood dripping into the snow. He had used that blood to clone Paul Forrester's body, and then had inhabited it. The new Paul Forrester had then begun to search for his son.

"I'm sorry. I wish there was a way to keep your school records up-to-date," Paul said, drawing Scott back to the moment.

"What's up, Dad? I know you didn't just come in to ask about my day," Scott sat forward, his gaze intent on his dad.

Paul raised an eyebrow, "You know me too well."

Scott grinned, "Yup."

A serious expression crept onto Paul's face. "I don't want to alarm you, but its been almost a month since we've had any sign of Fox."

Scott's eyes widened, "You think he's setting some kind of trap?"

"I don't know. I just don't want us becoming too comfortable here. We have to be ready to run."

"But, you think you got a reply to the ad you put in the paper. How are we supposed to find Mom if we keep having to run!" Scott's eyes flashed with unshed tears, remembering how close he had been to seeing his mom two years ago. Fox had ruined that reunion by capturing them.

"What if that reply was from Fox? We'll find your mom, but we have to be careful," Paul reached over and squeezed Scott's shoulder affectionately.


	5. Chapter 5

When the doctor and Fox had left, Nancy brought in a tray of food. Only then did Traci remember it had been two days since she'd had a decent meal. Her stomach growled loudly, and she gave an embarrassed little smile to Nancy.

Nancy made no sign that she'd noticed. She set up the tray and left.

Traci uncovered the tray. A medium sized cup held chicken broth, there was a small plate with a garden salad but no dressing, and two small cartons of ice cold milk. Traci downed the broth in several large swallows, then dug into the salad. She grimaced at the bitter taste of the greens, she preferred hers drenched in dressing, but she wasn't going to complain. Food was food.

Replacing the cover, Traci pushed the tray away, completely ignoring the milk. She'd never acquired a taste for it, even though she knew she needed the calcium.

When Nancy returned to take the tray, she had a small paper cup with several different colored pills, and a glass of water.

Traci looked into the cup of pills, "What are these?"

"One is a calcium pill, since you didn't drink your milk. The others are multivitamins and folic acid."

"Why are you giving me these?" Traci asked curiously.

"I'm not at liberty to say," Nancy replied.

Thinking to herself, Folic acid_,_ Traci popped the pills into her mouth and washed them all down with the water.


	6. Chapter 6

Paul read the personal ad from USA Today yet again.

"Down-to-Earth lady

wishes to meet Spaced-Out-Man.

Please call: (559)222-2989

and leave a message."

Each time he read the ad, a thousand questions ran through his head. Was it Jenny? When they were reunited in Arizona, they hadn't discussed how they would get in touch with each other if they were separated. He'd just decided to give this a try, after he'd seen it done in a spy movie. But he'd worded his own ad so obviously that Fox was sure to know who it was from.

He thought of the ad he'd put in several of the nationwide newspapers.

"Out-of-this-world photographer

seeks Alive-Again lady.

Please respond in kind."

Paul had hoped that if Jenny did see the ad, she would understand the double meaning of "in kind," and would word her replying ad in a similar fashion.

His heart had skipped a beat when the reply had appeared in the USA Today the day before. Several times he had picked up the phone and begun to dial, only to replace the receiver, scared of what might lay in wait at the other end of the line.

Now Paul stood up and moved to the phone. He was going to make the call. If it was Fox, he could hang up before a trace could be successfully run. If it was a complete stranger, he could say he had the wrong number and hang up. If it was Jenny... Oh please, let it be Jenny! The first time he visited Earth, he didn't know what love was. Now that he knew, now that he knew he loved Jenny, he wanted nothing more than to be with her for every minute of every day for the rest of his life.

Picking up the receiver, Paul listened to the dial tone for a moment, then started pressing the numbers. He held his breath as the phone began to ring. One ring, two, three. Paul began to despair. No one was there.

Then, "Hello?" It was a woman's voice.

"J-Jenny?" Paul cleared his throat nervously. It still might not be her, just because a woman answered, didn't mean it was Jenny.

"Just a minute. May I ask who's calling?"

"Paul Forrester," Paul replied.

There was a muffled gasp, and apparently the phone was passed to someone else, then, "Paul! It is you! Where are you?"

"Jenny!" Paul breathed a sigh of relief. "Hang on, there's someone here who really wants to talk to you."

Paul covered the mouth piece and called out, "Scott, there's someone on the phone for you."

Scott stuck his head out of his room, "I didn't hear the phone ring." Scott's eyes widened, suddenly realizing what that meant. "Mom!" Scott raced to his dad's side, grabbing the phone.

"Mom!" Scott whispered, as if afraid of frightening a wild animal.

"Scott! Oh, Scott!" Scott could hear the tears in his mother's voice. "I've missed you so much," Jenny sobbed.

"Me, too, Mom!"

Paul gestured to Scott to give the phone back. Scott reluctantly said goodbye to his mom and handed the phone back to Paul.

"Jenny, you haven't seen Fox or any of his men, have you?" Paul was concerned that Fox might have tracked Jenny down.

"No. I'd know, Paul."

"I know. It's just that, its been almost a month since he's bothered us."

Scott began jumping up and down, trying to get his father's attention. Obviously a few words with his mother were not enough to hold him for the days or weeks until he would see her.

"What, Scott?" Paul asked, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder to make him be still.

"When are we going to see Mom? If Fox isn't watching, we can move around fairly freely."

"Scott, that might be what he's counting on. I think we need to move slowly. If we rush, we could get ourselves into trouble, or worse."

"I agree," Jenny said, having heard what Paul had just said.

"Your mother agrees," Paul relayed to Scott.

"But its been so long," Scott practically wailed in frustration.

"Let me talk to him again," Jenny said to Paul, who obediently handed the phone to Scott.

"Scott, honey. I love you with all my heart and can't wait to see you, but we don't want a repeat of Peagrum."

"Mom," a whisper, full of anguish and unshed tears.

"Baby, we'll be together soon. Know that in your heart."

"I know it," Scott replied, tears sliding down his cheeks, he brushed them away roughly.

"Now, put your father back on."

Scott handed the phone back to Paul and retreated to his room. He was overwhelmed by the prospect of seeing his mother again.

Paul watched Scott's retreating back, wondering at the rare moment of vulnerability he'd just seen Scott display.

"Paul, how do you know this call isn't being traced?" Jenny's voice was full of worry for the men she loved.

"Fox would already have someone breaking down the door, if it were," Paul, replied, praying that he was right.

"How should we do this?" Jenny asked.

"I guess we should meet up in a public place, and see if Fox makes a grab for us. Where are you?" Paul replied.

"I'm in Fresno, California. Where are you?"

"Seattle, Washington. I guess its about time we hit the road again, anyway. We'll leave for California in a few days. When we get into Fresno, we'll get a motel room and give you a call."

"Okay, that sounds good. I've missed you."

"I love you."

"I love you, too. I'll see the two of you when you get here."

With that, they both hung up.


	7. Chapter 7

"She's responding nicely to the high nutrition diet, Mr. Fox. Another week of that, the vitamins and the folic acid and I think we can attempt to impregnate her. All of the ova we recovered when she was brought in are viable and ready for implantation," Dr. Perle said.

"Good. Keep me informed. Give me a call when you're ready to implant, I'd like to be there," Fox glanced up from his paperwork to Dr. Perle, who was sitting across from him.

* * *

One morning during the second week of her confinement, Traci finally found out why Fox wouldn't tell her what they wanted her for.

Fox came in early that day, followed by Dr. Perle and several medical technicians.

"Prep her for the implantation of the embryos," the doctor said, moving across the room to make his own preparations.

"W-what!" Traci stammered, thinking, Implantation, embryos! Impregnation! She started to rise from the bed, only to be pushed back down by two of the technicians.

"What are you going to put in me!" she demanded, glaring at Fox and the doctor. She struggled to pull her arms free, but the technicians were strong.

"A baby, Traci! A very special baby. It's father isn't from Earth," Fox decided to try to shock Traci.

"What!" Traci's voice rose several octaves. "You can't be serious," she continued, getting her voice back under control. Fox was standing close to the bed, and Traci's legs were unrestrained, so she kicked with all her might. Fox seemed to see it coming, though, for he backed off an instant before her foot reached the place where his face had been. The technicians secured Traci's arms in leather restrains, then grabbed hold of her legs and did the same.

"I am very serious," Fox said, giving Traci a level stare.

"But, what will it do to my body?" Traci wailed, as she fought against the restraints.

"Another woman gave birth to a child by this same alien, and she is perfectly healthy," Fox said, reassuring her.

Traci gave another feeble attempt to free herself of the restraints, then sagged down onto the bed, glaring at Fox the whole time she was being prepared for the implantation.

A couple of hours later, the implantation was complete, and Traci had been left alone. The doctor had told her not to strain herself, or she would be sedated.

She was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what indiscretion she had done in a previous life to deserve this.

Several days later, she woke up feeling highly nauseous. She was pregnant, and now she was terrified.


	8. Chapter 8

One morning, two weeks after speaking to Jenny on the phone, Paul woke up feeling sick.

Groaning, he stumbled to Scott's bed in the hotel they were staying at. They had reached Fresno a few days before, and were meeting Jenny that day.

Scott woke with a start. "Dad? What's wrong?" he asked, worry creasing his forehead. He remembered the time his dad had come down with a cold and nearly died because his body didn't have any white blood cells or anti-bodies. The doctor had assured them that Paul wouldn't get that deathly ill again, though.

"My stomach feels like its being twisted and turned," Paul gasped, his brown eyes wide with fear.

Scott grabbed the plastic bag lined garbage can and thrust it in Paul's face, just as Paul lost the contents of his stomach.

"Feel better?" Scott asked, when Paul had finished.

Paul just groaned and collapsed onto the bed.

"Come on, Dad, you can't get sick now. We're going to see Mom this afternoon."

By noon Paul was back to his usual self. He decided he was just nervous about seeing Jenny again.

"Where are we meeting Mom?" Scott asked anxiously. He looked into the mirror for the hundredth time, making sure his clothes weren't wrinkled and his hair looked good.

"We're meeting her at the main entrance of the Fashion Fair Mall," Paul said, pulling on his brown leather jacket. "Ready?"

"Yes!"

Paul and Scott left the motel room behind and went to their car. They had stayed at the Super 8 across from Fresno State.

Ten minutes later, Paul turned off Shaw Avenue into the front parking lot of Fashion Fair Mall. Cruising by the front entrance, Paul saw Jenny standing just outside the doors. She was alone, and didn't look stressed or afraid.

Paul quickly found a parking spot and Scott jumped out of the car, and ran toward the entrance.

"Scott!" Paul shouted after the boy, but he didn't stop or hesitate, so Paul broke into a run and went after him.

A couple of minutes later, Paul reached the entrance and found mother and son embracing, sobbing happily. Jenny pulled Paul into the embrace, squeezing her two men tightly.

Jenny finally released her grip on Paul and Scott. "Come on, let's go to my place, we have a lot of catching up to do."


	9. Chapter 9

Traci sat up in bed, her hand going to her distended belly.

It had moved, kicking gently, as though trying to gage how much room it had to move in.

Standing, Traci went to the door and opened it. A man in his early fifties sat outside, reading a magazine. He looked up, when he heard the door open.

"Call Fox, tell him the baby moved," Traci told the man, then retreated back into her room.

Within half an hour, Fox was there. He stood over Traci possessively.

"You're sure it kicked," Fox demanded, a peculiar gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, it kicked," Traci sighed. The way he was looking at her stomach scared her. What does he want with this baby? What is he going to do with it? To it? she thought. These thoughts made her afraid for the baby growing within her. Even though it was alien, it was still a living being that deserved to live its life freely.

* * *

The fetus became aware of herself in her fifth month of development. She also became aware of her mother's emotions. Most of the time, her mother was anxious but calm. There were times that her mother became highly terrified. The baby knew that her mother was afraid for her, which made her afraid.

The baby could sense she was different. She also sensed that there were two others like her. She felt them as two points of light in her mind. One of the lights was brighter than the other. The baby instinctively knew this was her daddy. Not knowing how she did it, just knowing she could, she reached out to her father.

In another area of the building, sensors, attached to a piece of the original craft the Starman used to come to Earth, began to sound alarms.


	10. Chapter 10

Paul picked up a cantaloupe, trying to figure out if it was ripe or not. He noticed a young mother, her baby cooing in the child seat of the shopping cart, pick a cantaloupe up and smell it. Paul smelled the cantaloupe in his hand, but didn't know what he was supposed to smell. It smelled kind of sweet, so he shrugged and put the melon in his basket. The basket was already half full, and Paul was almost through the list of items Jenny had sent him to the store for.

Ten minutes later, and several more items in the shopping cart, Paul headed for the checkout line.

Paul doubled over the handle of his shopping cart, suddenly overcome with the feeling that Scott needed him. It was the same sensation as when Scott had called him after his foster parents died.

Leaving the shopping cart where it was, Paul rushed from the store to his car.

He drove almost recklessly, barely making it through several lights before they turned red.

When Paul pulled into the parking stall of their new apartment, the breaks squealed.

Jumping out of the car, his hand went to his pocket and the sphere that lived there. He raced into the apartment, shouting, "Scott, where are you?"

Jenny came running out of the kitchen, dropping a dish cloth on her way, "What's wrong?"

Scott stuck his head out of his room, instantly alerted by the fear in his father's voice.

"I'm right here, Dad. What's wrong? Is it Fox?" Scott looked ready to run, right then and there.

"I don't know," Paul said, relaxing slightly when he saw Scott and Jenny unharmed. "You called to me, the same way you called me after your foster parents died."

"I didn't call you Dad. I'm working on a term paper for history class," Scott's brow furrowed in confusion.

"You're sure you didn't do anything with your sphere or any of the mind exercises I taught you?" Paul asked, anxiety still working its way across his face. Jenny tucked herself into Paul's arms, fear making her shake.

"All I've been thinking about for the past couple of hours is my term paper," Scott replied.

Paul steered Jenny to the sofa and sat down heavily. "If it wasn't you, and it wasn't Jenny," Paul let the statement hang in the air before him, as if studying it. "But, you're my only child."

"Can you home in on the source of the call with your sphere?" Scott asked, wracking his brain for any ideas to share with his father.

Sudden realization dawned on Paul's face, "When it first happened, I didn't pay attention to the direction the call was coming from, since I assumed it was coming from home or close to it. It wasn't, though. In fact, it wasn't coming from one of our spheres," Paul paused, drawing a calming breath. "It was coming from the fragment of my first ship. The fragment Fox has."

"What!" Scott and Jenny exclaimed simultaneously.

* * *

They had stayed up late that night, discussing the endless possibilities of who or what had used the ship fragment to call for help. The truth was, they had no way of finding out what was going on without putting themselves in danger.

Paul started to drift into an uneasy sleep, Jenny snuggled up against him. A thought occurred to him as to how he could find out what was going on with little risk to any of them.

He gently shook Jenny, who opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"Jenny, I know how I can find out what's going on."

Jenny pulled herself up on her elbow, facing Paul, "I'm all ears."

"I've never had to do this, but I can leave this body for a short time."

Concern flashed over Jenny's face, "But, won't the body die if you're not in it?"

"I can leave for an hour, with no harm coming to this body. It will look as though I'm in a very deep sleep. I'll actually be in my energy form. I'll be able to move around undetected. I can follow the distress call to its source. Whoever used the fragment has to be close to it."

"Are you sure about this? I couldn't stand the thought of losing you again!"

"I'm sure."

"When are you going to try?"

"Tomorrow, while Scott's at school."


	11. Chapter 11

The tension in the air was palpable, but Scott thought it was just because his parents were worried about what had happened the day before.

Jenny kept casting nervous glances at Paul. Paul was going about his morning routine, trying to act as if everything was normal. Inside, though, he was roiling. Emotions were bouncing off of each other. This would be the first time in several years that he would be in his true form. The thought both terrified and exhilarated him.

Scott said bye to both his parents, then left to catch the school bus.

Jenny paced the kitchen, moving little things around the counter, knowing they weren't out of place but needing something to do.

Paul stood up from the kitchen table, and Jenny turned toward him. "Let's do this," Paul said, remembering that he'd heard that saying somewhere, but not remembering where. How can I not remember something? he wondered to himself. Then thinking, I must be having one of those senior moments I hear people talk about.

Jenny followed Paul into the bedroom, where he took off his shoes and laid down on the neatly made bed. Jenny sat on the edge of the bed, taking Paul's hand. Paul smiled up at Jenny.

"If I'm not back in an hour..." Paul let the sentence drop, took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Paul's breathing became almost imperceptible. Jenny had to place her hand on his chest to feel the gentle rise and fall.

* * *

The energy being that had become Paul Forrester let himself rise out of the body. The being had no sex, but had been in the body of Paul Forrester long enough that it now considered itself male.

He instantly missed his body, missed the feelings, both tangible and intangible, associated with it.

In the instant that he left the body, he knew he could never return to his planet. Earth, with all its feelings and flaws, had become his home. He would eventually have to communicate this to his people, so they wouldn't wonder what had become of him.

He brought himself back to the job at hand. He replayed the distress call, homing in on the source. Within moments, he had flown the short distance and was in the room, next to the ship fragment.

It hummed a high frequency note, acknowledging his presence, querying his needs. The fragment lacked the higher computations necessary to know that it was no longer a whole ship.

Paul ignored it, concentrating on the building around him. A pinpoint of light several floors up caught his attention. He flew toward it, moving through the tiniest places to get there.

He found himself in a hospital style room. A pregnant woman lay in the bed, thumbing listlessly through a magazine. The light came from the child within her. Paul quickly studied mother and child, both were healthy.

Paul knew time was growing short, so he made a quick buzz through the rest of the building, taking note of the number of people in the building, and any apparent security measures.

He stopped briefly outside, studying the building and the surrounding area, so he could find the place later.

* * *

Paul gasped, his whole body shuddering, his hands clenching and unclenching convulsively.

Jenny sat up straight, squeezing Paul's hand.

"Not so hard," Paul managed between gasps.

Jenny loosened her grip, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself. "Are you all right?"

Paul's breathing had steadied, the color returning to his face. "I'm okay," Paul struggled into a sitting position. Jenny pushed pillows behind his back, helping him prop himself up.

Once Paul had had a chance to recover from his experience, Jenny asked, "What did you find out?"

"I'll show you." Paul stood up, taking his sphere out of his pocket.

Jenny stood next to Paul, taking his left hand in hers. Her eyes full of concern, she asked, "Are you sure you're ready? You don't need to rest for a while longer first?"

Paul smiled down at her, "I'm fine."

Paul concentrated on his sphere. They were suddenly standing in a blue, swirling tunnel.

Jenny gasped, as memories of her first experience in this tunnel came flooding back to her.

"You all right?" Paul asked her, ready to release his concentration on the sphere if Jenny said she wasn't.

Jenny smiled up at Paul reassuringly, "I'm okay."

"Okay, here goes."

One side of the tunnel blanked out, then came to life, running through everything Paul had seen during his out-of-body experience.

When they got to the part where Paul had moved outside the building, Jenny gasped.

"What is it?" Paul asked.

"That building. I know it. That's where Fox took me, after you left."

Paul released his concentration on his sphere. The tunnel disappeared and they were back in their bedroom.

They both sat heavily down on the bed.

"A baby," Jenny said in wonder.

"Another of Fox's schemes," this was the only plausible explanation Paul could come up with.

"But how?" Jenny wanted to know.

"At Peagrum," Paul said, knowing he wouldn't have to explain further.

"Does this mean he's given up on trying to catch you?"

"Even if that's the case, we can't leave the child there. You know what Fox would do!"

"I know, that was selfish of me. I'm sorry. We have to find a way to make Fox stop looking for you, though. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of running."

"I am too," Paul pulled Jenny into his arms, holding her reassuringly. "We'll find a way to get Fox to leave us alone.

"But first, we have to find that woman and get her out of Fox's grasp."

* * *

Paul and Jenny told Scott everything when he got home from school later that afternoon.

"That is so low," Scott sputtered angrily. "How could Fox even conceive of this!"

"He's getting desperate. The government is probably threatening to cut his funding, especially after what happened at Peagrum," Jenny patiently explained. Her calmness helped to calm Scott.

"How are we going to get her out of there?" Scott wanted to know.

"We don't know yet. We'll have to take a few days to come up with something," Paul replied.


	12. Chapter 12

A week passed in frustration, as plan after plan was discarded because it placed them in too much danger.

That Saturday, they were all sitting around the kitchen table, discussing yet one more plan.

"No, Jenny. I won't let you put yourself in that kind of danger." Paul argued.

Before Jenny could argue her point any further, a high pitched humming split the air.

Jenny and Scott both bolted out of their chairs, sure they had been discovered by Fox.

Paul remained calm, pulling his sphere out of his pocket. It was glowing and seemed to be the source of the hum.

Jenny and Scott, still wide eyed, slowly sat back down. They both looked from the sphere to Paul.

Paul concentrated on his sphere, and was instantly surrounded by the blue light the sphere was emanating.

"We received distress call from you, but not you," a "voice" spoke directly into Paul's mind.

Without waiting for a response, the "voice" searched Paul's mind, absorbing everything that had happened since Paul returned to Earth.

"Do you wish to go home now?" the "voice" asked.

"I wish to remain here, in this form." Paul replied, scared that his people might try to make him go home with them.

"You may stay. We will 'talk' to being named George Fox, show him we are peaceful. Go to this place where the woman being is being held, alert us when you get there."

Paul slumped back in his seat. The connection broken.

Jenny and Scott looked worriedly at Paul.

He grinned back at them. "A 'phone call' from home. Apparently the baby not only called me, but called my people as well."

"What!" Jenny and Scott both exclaimed.

"That's not all. They're going to help us free the woman, and they're going to talk to Fox and get him to leave us alone."

Both Jenny and Scott bubbled with excitement at this news.

* * *

The next day, Paul and his family were Arizona bound. Jenny had said the building Paul had seen was not too far from the meteor crater.

Jenny and Scott would stay at a hotel near the crater, claiming they were on a mother/son trip. Paul would go straight to the building. He would have his sphere in his hand so that just before Fox's men grabbed him, he could make a quick "phone call."

* * *

In the parking lot of the Best Western, Paul kissed Jenny and hugged Scott.

"Be careful," Jenny said as she reluctantly turned to enter the hotel.

"Yeah, Dad, be careful," Scott put in, grabbing their bags and following his mom.

Paul got back in the car and pulled out of the parking lot, hoping against all hope that his people knew what they were doing.

He parked two blocks from the building and got out of the car. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his sphere and held it loosely in his hand.

Walking along the side walk, Paul felt exposed. There were almost no pedestrians out today.

The front of the building was just as he remembered it. Tall trees shaded most of the building and the windows of the ground floor were shielded by shrubs.

Paul pushed through the glass doors, into the lobby. There was a receptionist sitting at a desk, looking bored, but otherwise the room was deserted.

The receptionist only perked up slightly at Paul's entrance. As Paul approached, she pulled a nail file out of her desk and began inspecting her fingernails.

Paul smiled at her nervously. "Um, hi. Maybe you can help me."

The receptionist glanced at Paul, then resumed her inspection. "Maybe," she drawled.

"I need to speak to George Fox," Paul went on, wondering if he'd made a mistake by coming in the front door.

The woman's eyebrows arched and she set her nail file down, reaching for the phone. She picked up the headset, punching a series of numbers. She tapped her fingernails against the desk, as she waited for someone to pick up on the other end.

"Uh, hi, Agent Fox?" the finger nails stopped tapping. "There's someone in the lobby who wants to see you." A pause, then, "Um, a little taller than me, brown hair, wearing a brown leather jacket." Another pause, then, "Yes, Mr. Fox. I'll tell him."

The receptionist set the phone back into its cradle, then looked up at Paul, "He'll be right down."

Just as the receptionist finished speaking, the stairwell door slammed open, and Fox came charging out, his gun drawn.

Paul instinctively concentrated on his sphere, sending out his "phone call" as quickly as he could.

In seconds, Fox was standing in front of Paul. Just as his hand touched the sphere, to snatch it from Paul, the building began to rumble.

There was a blinding flash of light, and Paul and Fox found themselves standing in a bright white room.

In that instant, Fox realized his gun was gone. "What is this place? What have you done!" Fox demanded, fear making his voice shrill.

"Being called George Fox, we will not harm you," the "voice" came from all around them. As it faded away, one section of white faded into black, and several large blue spheres came into view.

Fox took several hurried steps away from the beings.

"Please, do not fear us. We only wish to speak to you." One of the beings seemed to pulse as the words were spoken. "We are curious, why do you fear the being now called Paul Forrester? Why do you fear us? You invited us here."

Fox was trembling now, his hands shaking as if he had a palsy. "You, you..." Fox stammered, then cleared his throat. "You came to take over. You mean to enslave my people."

"No, we are peaceful beings. Has the being now called Paul Forrester ever done anything to harm you?"

"No, but I never gave him the chance."

"He had plenty of chances to harm others. Did he harm them?"

Fox stood silent, refusing to answer.

"May we offer evidence of our peacefulness?"

Fox remained still, too frightened to even move.

Another section of wall faded, what it showed next was the inside of a car. A Mustang to be exact.

A young Jenny Hayden sat in the drivers seat. The perspective was from the passenger seat.

Jenny was humming to herself as she drove. The view moved down, and now it could be seen that the perspective was through the eyes of the being who had cloned Scott Hayden Senior's body. He pulled a folded up piece of paper towel out of his jacket pocket and clumsily unfolded it.

Stammering slightly on the unfamiliar word, he asked, "What is kid-napp-ed?"

Jenny said, "What?" so he repeated himself.

Tires squealing on the roadway, Jenny slammed on the brakes.

When the car had come to a stop, he turned toward Jenny, who, trembling, said, "You want to know what kidnaped is? It's being dragged from your house in the middle of the night by some whatever you are, and made to drive half way across the country, not knowing what's going to happen to you when you get there. So if you're going to kill me, just get it over with. I'd rather be dead than go on being scared to death."

His hand came into view, pointing a 9mm at Jenny's head.

"Go on, do it," Jenny said, then squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in a trembling breath.

There was a click, followed by a thump as the gun's clip hit the floor boards.

"I mean you no harm, Jenny Hayden."

The scene faded out, only to be replaced by another, and another, showing various times since Paul had returned, and people he had helped. This seemed to go on for hours, Fox watching, numbed. The last scene of all made his blood run cold.

Fox was chasing after Paul, right after Paul and the boy had gotten loose in Building 11.

The big sliding doors were closing and Paul was watching as Fox drew his gun.

"Forrester, I'll shoot you. I will shoot you. I'm not going to lose you again."

As Fox moved between the large sliding doors, they began to close on him. At that moment, Fox's face contorted in pain. "Oh, no, not now. God, not now." With that Fox collapsed.

Paul had turned to go, but stopped when he heard Fox collapse. He knelt by Fox, placing his hand on Fox's chest. "His heart is beating unevenly, rapidly."

Scott and Wayne, Jenny's brother, turned back.

"Forrester, come on. We can make it!" Wayne exclaimed, trying to hurry them away from the base before they could be recaptured.

"He's going to die," it was a statement of fact, with a note of incredible sadness in it. Paul knew he couldn't let this man die, no matter what he had done to Paul and Scott in the past. He pulled his sphere out of his pocket. It was immediately surrounded by blue light. Paul kept his other hand on Fox's chest.

In moments, Fox was breathing more easily, and his color had improved.

The scene ended, and one of the beings said, "He could have let you die. Then he would have been left alone. He saved your life, though."

A single tear traced its way down Fox's cheek. "What have I done!" he wailed, his hands going to his face, as a wracking sob went through his body. The sob was followed by another and another until he was sobbing uncontrollably.

Paul walked over to Fox, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Its ok. You were only doing what you thought was right."

"But, I've chased you and chased you, and now... now, what have I done. I've impregnated an innocent girl with an innocent child. What am I going to do!"

"Let Jenny and me talk to her. We'll tell her that if she doesn't want to keep the child, we'll adopt it."

"Yeah, I guess that's for the best, that way you can teach the child to be as gentle a soul as you. I only wish I'd seen that before. Everybody I questioned about you couldn't understood how you could be a bad person, when you were so kind and gentle and did your best to help them, even if they were a complete stranger." Fox wiped his eyes on his sleeve, composing himself once more. "I'm ready to go back, now. I have to tender my resignation, and tell my superiors that it was all an elaborate hoax that I came up with to further my career."

Paul was astonished. He had thought that it would be much more difficult to make Fox leave them alone. He nodded to his people, and there was another brilliant flash of light.

Fox and Paul were once again in the lobby of the building where Jenny had been questioned after Paul had left the first time. Fox looked over at the receptionist and said, "Call Nancy and tell her to release Traci to these people."

The receptionist looked at Fox, astonishment plain on her face. She opened her mouth to protest, but Fox snapped, "Do it! Now! And have the fragment sent down to the lobby."

Fox looked over at Paul, "Please, forgive me for everything I've done to you."

Paul smiled at Fox, "You're forgiven."


	13. Chapter 13

Traci was silent on the ride over to the hotel.

"So, you're the..." Traci said hesitantly, once they were in the hotel room. Paul, Jenny and Scott quickly, but happily reunited. Jenny and Scott were bubbling with excitement at the news that Fox was going to leave them alone.

"The father, yes," Paul replied, nodding his head to show he understood what she had really meant to say, and that yes, he was the alien.

Once everyone had settled down somewhat, Paul said, "We understand this pregnancy wasn't your choice. If you don't want the child, we will gladly take her and you can go on your way."

"If only I had somewhere to go," Traci sobbed. "The whole reason Fox took me for his experiment was that I was homeless. I wouldn't be missed. Two years ago, I was an up and coming artist. My sculptures were beginning to sell and I couldn't create them fast enough. Then I made the mistake of hiring the wrong person to sell my sculptures. He sold them and squirreled away all the money, then ran off with it. I needed that money to pay my rent. I was already several months behind, and my landlord told me he couldn't extend my rent any more. When I couldn't pay him, he threw me out and sold all of my belongings to try to make back some of the back rent. As to the baby, I don't know. I guess I'll have to think about it."

A calculating look came over Jenny's face, when she heard that Traci was an artist.

"I've been thinking about this for a while, but I never thought I'd actually be able to do it, and now that Fox is going to leave us alone, I think I'd like to give it a shot. I'd like to open an art gallery; showcasing and selling my paintings, and, now, your sculptures as well." Jenny paused taking a breath; "Until you're back on your feet, we'll pay the rent on an apartment for you."

Traci gasped.

Paul looked rather bemused. "Where are we going to get the money to start this gallery?" he asked, glancing at Jenny from his seat on the bed opposite the one she sat on.

"Ah, you forget, my love, in Arizona my paintings sold for a million dollars a piece. I actually sold a couple of them, too. Laney told me she would hold the money for me until I needed it, or could safely come back for it. We'll have enough to open the gallery, and keep us all happily housed and fed for some time," Jenny said.

Traci was shocked. They were going to house her until she was back on her feet. "Are you always this nice to complete strangers?" Traci asked.

"All part of the friendly service," Paul and Jenny intoned at the same time.


End file.
